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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27190594">Maybe Hope Isn't That Boring</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Featherine_Aurora/pseuds/Featherine_Aurora'>Featherine_Aurora</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Attempt at Humor, Character Development, Gen, Humor, Introspection, Redemption, Regret</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 04:16:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,650</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27190594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Featherine_Aurora/pseuds/Featherine_Aurora</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Monaca is arrested by the Future Foundation, Komaru visits her to offer her a possible path for a better future.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Naegi Komaru &amp; Towa Monaca</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Maybe Hope Isn't That Boring</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Right, with this, I had a vague idea and it just grew into what it is as I wrote it. Hopefully, I've managed to handle both of the characters involved in this okay. I've never written anything involving either of them before.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Monaca sighed. She was really bored. Being in the custody of the Future Foundation was so boring. This cell was so boring. Her life now was boring. Why had she ended up like this?</p><p>
  <em>But that hope and despair stuff was becoming really boring too. And stupid as well. I was starting to feel ridiculous whenever I talked about it.</em>
</p><p>Being here felt pathetic. But Monaca wasn’t sure if it was worse than she’d been before she’d been captured. What was better? Being bored in this cell or feeling about the same way while going through the motions of being Ultimate Despair? For some reason, it felt like this cell was the right answer. Why? Why was she here? What was the point?</p><p>As she lay there, lost in her thoughts, there was a knock at her cell door. That was followed by the sound of a voice. </p><p>“Monaca? Is it okay if I come in?”.</p><p>Monaca recognised that voice. It was Komaru Naegi.</p><p>“Why are you asking me? I’m the prisoner here, remember?”</p><p>There was a pause. Then Komaru replied with “Because it’s polite?”.</p><p>Monaca frowned. Really? That was her reason? How stupid. Komaru was, at times, a strange person. Not remarkably so, but she still had her moments.</p><p>
  <em>I might as humour her.</em>
</p><p>“Fine. Please come into my cell, Komaru”.</p><p>“Thank you”. </p><p>
  <em>She sounds chirpy.</em>
</p><p>The door opened and Komaru casually entered, as though she wasn’t entering a room like this cell. It had been a few years since they’d first met and it still felt odd to see Komaru as she was now. She seemed much more like a real adult, even if a young one. At the same time, Monaca herself was now a teen girl like Komaru had been then.</p><p>“What do you want this time, Komaru?”</p><p>“Beyond to talk with you? Nothing”.</p><p>“Again? You really seem to like visiting me. How many times is this now?”. Monaca smirked. “You do remember what I’ve done, right? I bet your parents would forbid you from hanging out with me. But that sort of obstacle will never be an issue for you any more, right?”.</p><p>She saw the other girl grimace. But the bit of joy she felt at hurting Komaru fell flat almost instantly.</p><p>
  <em>I thought it would be a lot more satisfying to see her make that face. But plunging people into despair, even people I don’t like, just seems so pointless. I don’t even feel the despair that my big sister felt. I just feel bored and like I did something pathetic. It’s like the second hand embarrassment I used to feel at times when Mr Servant would ramble about his views. </em>
</p><p>She’d heard that Mr Servant… Nagito. He had made her days after leaving Towa City easier. He was really weird. But he could also be oddly kind and his banter with her about hope made her feel better about herself during those initial days of trying to be the new Ultimate Despair.</p><p>
  <em>What he said felt so good to hear. What I was doing was important. I was important. I was despair itself. The world revolved around hope and despair clashing and so what I was doing was of global importance. According to him, humanity needed despair to challenge it again and again in order to unlock the greatness and potential of its most brilliant members. From total despair, there would be born a wonderful and invincible hope that would fill everyone with joy to behold. So I was needed. He thought that I was important for everyone. <br/></em>
</p><p>That sort of talk, as stupid as was, did make Monaca feel more energised. It was like having a rival daring her to challenge him for some epic clash of ideals. It was silly. But it was also sort of cool, even if it was in a stupid way that made Monaca laugh as she thought about it.</p><p>After giggling to herself, Monaca looked at Komaru. For some reason, Komaru was smiling. From what little that Komaru knew, Monaca was likely laughing about her parent’s death. So why was she smiling? </p><p>“That’s creepy, Komaru”.</p><p>“It’s just, I also remember that you pretty much gave up. You actively went out of your way to confront us, then folded so easily. I know that you could have done a lot more. We should have been dead. It’s obvious. You let us win. I even have a few ideas why”.</p><p>Monaca glared at her, then tried to look as though she was about to unleash some cruel revelation. She had even tried momentarily to think of a way to spin everything in a way that would make Komaru doubt herself. But that seemed very pointless now. So she resigned herself to pouting at Komaru and said “Fine. I gave up willingly. So what?”</p><p>“Because I think that is proof that you’ve started to change”. Komaru sounded confident. “I think that it’s proof that you want to reach out to people like me and Toko, in your own way”.</p><p>“Hmmm”. Monaca limited her response to that and to deciding to look down at her own feet. Seeing that, Komaru continued.</p><p>“I have a feeling that wasting your life here is something you don’t want to do. If that’s true, this is your chance. All that is needed is a bit of honesty from you and a bit of willingness to let others understand you”.</p><p>“Really?”. Monaca felt that Komaru was starting to spout nonsense. But she did have a point. Monaca had sought out a chance to surrender. So she decided to try at giving Komaru what she wanted. “Do you remember when you first looked at your brother and had that younger sibling moment of realising that he might be less capable than you thought?”</p><p>“Well…”. Komaru seemed to lose herself in contemplation for a moment before answering with. “I think I missed out on that”.</p><p>She sounded sad. Ah, yeah, with the tragedy and then his work at rebuilding, Komaru has had some important years of family life stolen from her. Komaru was clearly forcing herself from dwelling on that when she added. “Plus, my brother is hardly normal. He was an Ultimate student and now he’s the Ultimate Hope, the beacon of hope for a lot of people. He’s like some sort of cool manga protagonist”.</p><p>“Heh. My sibling caused the end of the world”. Monaca grinned. While her feelings towards her sister figure had changed, there was still a part of her that thought that Junko was really cool. To put in like Komaru had just done, Junko was like the sort of villain who would normally the ultimate villain at the top of a massive organisation at the end of any long running manga. But Junko was too cool to need henchmen. <em>Yeah, big sis Junko could be so cool. </em></p><p>It was as she was feeling that reverence towards Junko that Monaca added “Big sis Junko was a remarkable person too, more so than your dull brother”.</p><p>“And yet I’m not jealous of that. I think I was better off with a dull brother”. Komaru seemed to be amused by the comparison, like comparing Junko and Makoto to each other in terms of being siblings was silly. Annoyingly, Monaca knew that Komaru was right.  To anyone with a family less shit than Monaca’s, Junko would probably be deemed to be an obviously terrible sibling.</p><p>“You.. might have a point. Maybe”.</p><p>“So why did you ask that, Monaca?”.</p><p>“I was hoping that it might help you understand my feelings. It’s mainly connected to my big sis and how my feelings towards her have been changing. I thought that your own experiences with your sibling might help you understand mine”.</p><p>Komaru looked at her wryly. “I do understand what you mean, but I don’t think that any sibling problems I’ve had are remotely like yours”.</p><p>“What do you mean?”.</p><p>“Because Makoto isn’t an evil mastermind who uses people like pawns? Because my brother hasn’t ever done anything as crazy as asking me to join him in trying to destroy the world? Because my brother is just an ordinary person who cares for his family?”</p><p>Komaru was looking at her like she was stupid for not thinking of these things herself. That hurt. But she did have a point.</p><p>
  <em>Oh god, I’m being outsmarted in a conversation by Makoto Naegi’s sister. Wait, she had a head start. She was older when she reached her conclusions. No, I’m a genius and she’s an ordinary average girl. I should have reached those same conclusions faster than her. No, this is so embarrassing. How can I be dumber than that average girl? But she was the one who rejected the battle of hope against despair first? Maybe she really is smarter than me? </em>
</p><p>Monaca’s mind kept going back and forth between directing irritation at Komaru and then at herself. But there was one truth she could focus on. Komaru was right about big sis Junko. A person like Junko surely never loved Monaca. But Makoto, as average as he was, could at least love Komaru. Yeah, her brother was probably what normal siblings were supposed to be like. So boring. But still, Monaca was a bit jealous of Komaru.</p><p>
  <em>While I’ve been basically cosplaying as big sis Junko with only Nagito at most to be there for me, she probably was getting lots of support from her friends and family.</em>
</p><p>Monaca was feeling really annoyed right now. This conversation was making her feel jealous of Komaru. Sure, she’d not been happy with the state of her life for a while. But this sort of resentment was something she’d not felt in ages. But her mind had been mainly swamped by different sort of feeling from that. Feelings like apathy and boredom.</p><p>Yeah, when Monaca had first was given the idea of being the new Ultimate Despair, she had been so excited by it. Nagito had initially been there to encourage her. Then he had needed to leave. Apparently, there was going to be a grand confrontation between hope and despair and he needed to be there. It had been oddly bittersweet to see him go. But Monaca still had her mission. However, as she worked on her plans further, a thought kept occurring to her.</p><p>
  <em>Why plunge people into despair? Why should I do this? Why is making people despair so important?</em>
</p><p>Because big sis Junko loved that and she loved big sis Junko. Maybe the possibility of it being pointless was itself a point. Maybe big sis Junko was watching this from the heavens, knowing that Monaca was pouring her heart into something like this, awaiting the moment when she truly felt despair. The idea that she might be making Junko feel happy in some way with her absurd schemes did make Monaca feel slightly hopeful. She hoped to feel the despair that Junko wanted.</p><p>But there was no despair in her heart. Just boredom and irritation. When she found out that Komaru was going after her, she just felt disappointed. But she decided at the time that it was just because she wasn’t being taken seriously. Monaca was now a proper mastermind and only Komaru and Toko were bothering to try to stop her. Then she hit a point, the point where she probably could be considered to have broken, but this was not what Junko would have wanted. </p><p>
  <em>No, this isn’t despair. I’ve just stopped caring about anything.</em>
</p><p>Monaca then made her move. She went to her enemies and executed her plan. That was to give up immediately. It was a new plan. She’d not thought about it much. But it made more sense than her previous plans. It actually had an end goal. She’d partly failed at that. The Future Foundation had confiscated her handheld. Apparently, it was too dangerous to allow her to have access to any gadgets that she could potentially modify for some malicious ends.</p><p>
  <em>What the hell do they think I’ll do with a fucking Vita?</em>
</p><p>Everyone was so moronic. She was tired of reading the manga that Komaru had leant her. Komaru had such boring tastes. All of this made Monaca give an exasperated sigh. “What happens now? Considering all my crimes, I’d assume that I’d be spending my life in jail. But I’ve been a minor through my criminal career and I doubt I’d get treated worse than the remnants of despair”.</p><p>“You could try at rehabilitation”. Komaru now had an optimistic gleam in her eyes. Monaca on the other hand was wondering if Komaru had lost it or something. “Seriously? Me? You want to offer that to me?”</p><p>“Why not?”. Komaru looked at her like she wasn’t seeing something that was obvious. “You do have your life ahead of you and there are people who want to give you a chance. I do. Toko does, despite what she says at times. So do Masaru and Jataro and Nagisa and Kotoko.  Despite everything, none of us think that you should be denied the chance at a future. But something like that kinda needs you to meet us in the middle. Will you do that, please?”.</p><p>Monaca didn’t care about that. Definitely not. She hated the world. She hated people. So why should their concern matter to her? Still, she felt like she had some understanding of Komaru’s character at this point. A person like her would be annoyingly stubborn if Monaca said no, wouldn’t she? Besides, it wasn’t like Monaca had anything better to do.</p><p>
  <em>Plus, talking with Komaru and thinking about her life is making me feel embarrassed about myself. I don’t want to spend my time feeling inferior to her.</em>
</p><p>“You’re probably going to pester me until you get your way. So I’ll give that a go, Komaru”.</p><p>Komaru’s eyes widened. “We’re talking about your life! Please don’t talk about your choices of what to do about it like you’re just picking something to eat”.</p><p>“This is just how I feel, Komaru Naegi. My life has exactly that much meaning. But I’m willing to go along with your stupid idea anyway. Isn’t that good enough?”. </p><p>Komaru rubbed her forehead in annoyance. “I know there are some things about living that you care about. You’ve been complaining about your handheld. There is that, right?”</p><p>“I guess”. Monaca was still annoyed about that. “I was replaying Zero Escape. I do want to get back to that. Will trying my best at this rehabilitation at least make the Future Foundation give me back my games?”.</p><p>Komaru smiled. “Sure. If you’re willing to cooperate, I’ll do my best to get your consoles back”. </p><p>“Great. I’m at the point in Zero Escape where Akane was just talking about how doing it in the elevator will make her wet”.</p><p>“Huh!?”. Komaru immediately started blushing. “Monaca, you shouldn’t play something like that yet!”.</p><p>Messing with a person like Komaru was fun. But she might not give Monaca that game back now. So Monaca decided to end the misunderstanding that she’d intentionally created. “Huh? Oh, “it” refers to going down to parts of the ship they’re on that are flooded. Wow, you’re such a perv, Komaru”.</p><p>“You’re awful”.</p><p>Monaca giggled as she looked at Komaru’s reddened face. The young woman in tern was crossing her arms, obviously not happy with Monaca’s joke. But she then let her arms fall to her sides and smiled. “You don’t look like a person whose life has no meaning to me”. </p><p>“Sure. Think whatever you want, Komaru”,</p><p>Despite herself, Monaca found herself smiling back at this idiot who wanted to rehabilitate her. Okay, being alive did have some perks. A girl like Komaru could be both amusingly predictable and amusingly unpredictable. Perhaps that was part of why surrendering to a person like her had felt like something worth doing.</p>
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